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Tuesday, January 27, 2015

The Kitchen at #dwh2

We moved in at #dwh2 in late May of 2013. The previous 20 months have been a good time for discovery (figuring out what works and what doesn't), observation (what do we use and what is waited space), moving things around (as in it would be more functional if we moved it over here). A good period of time, but now, it is time to make the plans to really liven the joint up a bit.

Like any *good* house-dweller, I have a fully stocked collection of inspiration photos from Pinterest. Sometimes I like the whole photo, but most of the time, there is an element, or two that I like and would like some portion of it to resemble what my space will eventually look like. So, to begin with, I am going to start with the inspiration photos, THEN, we will go to what it actually looks like. I like the reverse presentation in this particular instance. Because, it is good to start with something positive!

Kelly Wearstler is amazing. Her style is very unique and it is used in some super chic places.

The floor in the above photo is like the flooring in 80% of our house, Terrazzo. Ours is white and gray, as this is obviously turquoise/green. None the less an elemental feature that is similar. I like to see how this type of flooring is styled other than in photos of a post office or bank. Additionally, I like the bar stools in this photo. Good mix of hard and soft. When the kitchen gets the revamp, I want to open up one of the walls of the kitchen that is connected to the breakfast room that has Terrazzo floors. Bar stools, such as the lovely ones above, would be a great addition. Alas, those puppies cost about $2k EACH - so that's a no go. Let's see what else I can come up with. Next photo...

If you've read more than 2 posts on my blog you know I'm a fan of white paint.

Moving forward in our kitchen *shocker* there will be more white paint.

Now...let's get down to brass tacks and the super important first step towards rejuvenation.

As this is project rejuvenation, not renovation.

As you can see in the photo above and below...
1. there are 3 different types of flooring exposed in the kitchen. Green (old linoleum), Brown peel and stick planks I used in the den and ran out of and didn't buy anymore for the kitchen), and illustrious marble tile.
2. It looks like the stove is all by it's lonesome stranded to one side of the kitchen. More on that in another picture.
3. You can see into the breakfast room. The wall above the stove is toast (hopefully) and will become a bar area so that the two rooms are combined.

Obviously, Handsome has to inspect to make sure it is up to scratch for his high/mighty standards.

Okay so now back to the layout in the kitchen.

Before I started laying the peel and stick planks in the kitchen, it looked like this. This is after the original stove top was taken out and the stove was put in. As you can see, there's a space situation happening because the larger cabinet unit was removed. And as you will notice in the photos moving forward, there is also a lighting issue. The kitchen is completely interior and doesn't have any windows to the outside world. So the only natural light comes from the floor to ceiling windows in the rooms that are next to it. Yet another reason to take down the wall above the stove, there's a huge window right here (more light for the kitchen).

And this fine thing is what was in the cabinet unit that was removed to make way for the new stove.
It works, but it was really dirty and well...it was time to go. It is currently in our storage room if anyone wants it!

And this...this is the whole in the counter top where the stove top was removed from.
Yep, that's a big, giant stove top.

The last photo I snapped before the electrician came to remove the unit. It was hardwired to the wall.
And by the way, I had this project done last May about 1 hour before my parents arrived from Kansas for a visit. As you can see from the corner of the photo below, the new(er) range was smack dab in the middle of the kitchen. That would be a no go for their time in the house.

Nice green floor, huh? I know you're all super jealous.

Or should I say, GREEN WITH ENVY?

Ha! Designer knee slapper joke.

And yes, Handsome does try super hard to be helpful in any way possible in the kitchen as he believes that any good deed should be rewarded (with food/snacks).

Okay, so here's how the kitchen looked just before the stove was delivered in the kitchen.

Looked okay. It was waisted space. On the wall to the right of the stove is a double oven, that will also be removed, and the entire set up wasn't quite right for this particular kitchen circa 2013/4/5.

Okay so now, about the stove...

Originally, I started looking for a 47" cookstop that could replace the one that was in the space.

Well, that didn't go very well. And after also trying to locate a 23" double oven to replace the units that are currently still in the kitchen, that was also unsuccessful. The next option, Craigslist.

And BINGO was her namo. I found this year old electric Viking stove from a fabulous house in an equally fabulous neighborhood in Memphis. I messaged the seller and went over as soon as I could to look at it. I promptly made the purchase. And it was delivered a few weeks later. They were in the midst of an entire home renovation and were converting from electric to gas which meant it was my lucky day. And without (not very many more) thoughts, the whole cabinet would come out and I'd figure out what to do with the space moving forward.

We've been using this stove/oven for about 7 months now and really like it. I was familiar with Viking as my family has a gas range and other Viking appliances in their kitchen. SO the only difference was the electric cook top. I didn't even know Viking made an electric version. To my surprise, this had been a special order and lucky for me we were able to get it. Gas is nice, but let me tell you having the flat surface that is durable enough to basically extend the counter top space when it is not in use, that's priceless. It heats up in a blink of a eye and cooks beautifully. Likewise, the oven has the full gamete of Viking options and it lives up to the name. Quite the deal if you can find one.

Now, after all of that perparation, and after the contracter made his visit, I want to move the stove to the wall the ovens are on to add a new vent hood and put a wine fridge where the current stove is. Alas, back to Pinterest I go. Flooring is selected (pics above) it's time to get this ship rolling!